A Prayer for Peace
by Megaolix
Summary: 2 months after Hector's defeat, peace has settled. Ein and Fia decide then to travel again, to Tetyth... SPOILERS for the game. EinxFia. Complete!
1. Prologue

Author's notes: Finally! Here is the Riviera fic I had in mind. I hope you'll appreciate it. So, without further waiting, here is it.

Disclaimer : I don't own Riviera.

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Prologue

_2 months after destroying Hector's ambitions, peace had quietly took place in Elendia, especially for the heroes. Serene, who didn't have anywhere to go, and Cierra, who liked Elendia, decided to settle there__. Ein also decided to stay instead of returning to Asgard._

_With a little help from everyone, they remodeled Fia's and Lina's house to accommodate all 5 of them. Well, for the 6 of them. Cierra, while moving books from a shelf, knocked a bottle of magic powder on Rose, who turned human. The former explained to the others that it was a rare powder that could grant one wish. Fortunately, Rose didn't mind being human, since it was her wish, but wondered how dense Ein could be when he just plain said that he didn't know she was a girl._

_So far, they were all living peacefully. Cierra often went to Nelde's ruins to search for magic herbs, followed sometimes by Lina, who wanted to find treasures, and Serene, who wanted to kick some demon's butt, like she said. Rose started to write a book about Ragnarok and the adventure they had in Riviera. The others girls were curious about what happened, but she clearly stated that nobody will read her book until it was over._

_Fia, followed by Ein who always wanted to come along with her, travelled from time to time to nearby temples to send prayers for the gods. Ein always made sure that nothing wrong was happening nearby while she prayed. Thanks to them, no monsters have  
ever been seen near Elendia__._

Elendia, in the afternoon...

Ein and Fia were in the Grove of Repose, looking at nature. Ein enjoyed looking at it when he had nothing else to do. Fia enjoyed it too, but was also here to make sure Ein was far from the Undine Spring, since the other were bathing at the time, and Ein was sometimes too curious for his own good.

"You know Fia, it would be fun to travel again."

"Really? But where?"

"Well... I don't know. I just thought it would be nice, since we had some fun in our travels."

"True, but I doubt the others will want to go. Cierra found a rare herb not too long ago, Rose is still writing her book, Lina..."

"I know, I know..." interrupted Ein. "But... I wondered if we could travel just between the two of us."

Fia looked up to him in surprise. Was he really suggesting to travel without anyone else? It could be a little dangerous, but she would have some time alone with him. Or maybe he had finally started to notice her? Or he just wanted to travel with her as a close friend? Or...

"So how about it?"

"Well, sure. But we still need a destination. Maybe we could give this trip a purpose too."

"Well then, how about Tethyth? We couldn't explore much because of the water, and there's something I wanted to do here too."

"You mean, about the anger of the gods here?"

"Yeah... we found ghosts last time we travelled here, meaning..."

"That some people couldn't find peace even now..." Fia finished for Ein.

"So how about it?"

Fia pondered for a while. Sure, it would be fun and the lost souls could finally find their peace. But she hoped Ein wouldn't try anything perverted too. Although Serene gave him the beating he deserved for the time he peaked at her and Cierra, she wondered if he had learned his lesson this time.

"Well, sure. Let's warn everyone and start making preparations for the trip, ok?" se answered, smiling.

Ein smiled too and both started planning ahead for the travel.

--

Author's notes : Ok, I know it's a little short, but I wanted to put a little prologue to set the fic. The next chapters will be (I hope at least) much longer than this. If you notice any mistake, don't be afraid to point it out, and I'll correct it in my next update.

So please, r/r.


	2. Forest Travel

First of all, reviewer's response.

wingweaver22 : Oops... Thank for letting me know. It's corrected now. I hope you'll keep reading.

: Glad you like reading my fic.

Author's note : I didn't got as much reviews as I wanted, but I suppose I sort of expected it with a prologue that short and the game not that known. Here's the first chapter. As promised, it is much longer than the prologue. I hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer : I don't own Riviera

--

Chapter 1 : Forest Travel

Ein and Fia left early in the morning, so they could travel as much as possible in one day. Rose, Lina and Cierra waved them good-bye while Serene shouted that if Ein tried anything "funny", to smack him with her scythe. They took with them food, some travelling gear, some potions in case they have to battle demons and of course, weapons. Ein brought Einherjar, while Fia took the Rosier. Both powerful holy weapons, they were sure to dispatch any enemy quickly.

So far, they didn't encounter anything out of the ordinary. The forest was calm, and light was able to pass through some trees.

"It's sure quiet around here", said Ein.

"It's like there's no one here", added Fia.

After some time, the pair decided to take a break. Ein started a fire, while Fia sorted out the food she was going to cook.

"I'm going to search for some water, Fia, you'll be okay?" asked Ein.

"Yes, I'll keep an eye on the fire while you're away."

Ein took a bucket, and took a direction where he thought he heard water streaming before.

After some time, he came upon it. A small river, easy to take some water from, was streaming before him. After filling the bucket, he headed back to the small camp.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Fia?" said Ein, worried. He dropped the bucket on he ground and started running, drawing Einherjar. He stopped when he had the camp in view, noticing three figures unknown to him. Starting to sneak, he could finally see who they were : a savage ogre, and two strong guards. The savage ogre, likely the leader, looked at Fia lecherously speak to the two others:

"Well, boys, what do you think of this cutie we found here? Think she'll be 'fun'?"

Ein had had to stop himself from just running straight to them and cut the head of the bastard with his sword. He started to evaluate his chances. He could maybe take them, with his strength, but three against one was a bit risky, and it could endanger Fia as well.

Speaking of her, he could finally see her on the ground. She was tied, and had a gag to stop her from further screaming. Looking at her eyes, she was obviously panicking. Watching this, Ein felt some pain in his heart. He had to act quickly, unable to bear Fia's pain any longer.

"We're going back. Andy, you take her. Be wary both of you, I doubt she was travelling alone. After, we're going to have our fun..."

Bastards, thought Ein. Not only were they going to hurt her, but they suspected his presence.

One of the guard lifted Fia on his shoulder, and they started to move. Ein, having no weapons other than his sword, had no choice but to rush them from behind and creating a surprise effect.

Andy smiled to himself. Rick, his leader, never had a better idea than travelling in forest for some treasure. They found nothing, but instead got the cute girl. He was tired of travelling, but she was worth all the efforts he made today. Right now, he wondered what they would do with her once they "played" with her.

He never knew what hit him.

Ein immediately set his sights on the guard carrying Fia, to stop him from using her as a shield. Piercing his gut with his sword, the guard simply collapsed, dead. He immediately placed himself between Fia and the remaining two warriors. He couldn't see where she was dropped by the dead guard now, or he was going to get himself killed.

"What the hell?", said Rick, drawing an axe. "You think you can barge here and kill us like that? Let's get him, Mick!"

Both attacked Ein had the same time. Having nowhere to dodge, he blocked the sword of Mick coming down on him and kicked Rick in the stomach. While he backed away, gasping for air. Ein pushed Mick's sword away and quickly struck him, ending his life. He was now even in numbers with the leader.

"Bastard! I'm going to kill you!" shouted Rick, who recovered.

Concentrating, he launched his best move, Carnage Drive. Ein, finding himself attacked from many sides, tried to block them all. Some struck, leaving him with some cuts on his shoulders and arms, but all were superficial. Fortunately, his adventure one month ago made him stronger, and attack such as these were not at all dangerous to him.

"Now it's my turn!" shouted Ein. The savage ogre, finding his best move useless, tried to run away, but too late.

"This is the will of the gods! Disaresta!"

He had no chance of survival.

Ein quickly put his blade aside and turned to Fia, who had been dropped in a puddle of mud. He quickly put her on dry ground, and removed first her gag.

"Ein..."

"Give me a second to untie you, Fia" said Ein.

After setting her free from the bonds, she put herself in a sitting position, saying nothing. Ein put himself down to face her.

"Fia? Are you all right? You're not hurt?" asked Ein, worried.

She said nothing. Ein not knowing what else to do, took Fia in his arms and set her head on his left shoulder. Finally reacting, she held to him like her life depended on it and started crying.

"It's okay, Fia. I'm here." said Ein.

"Ein! I'm so glad to see you!" said Fia, between her tears. "They took me from behind!I thought you wouldn't have been able to find me! I... I was so scared! And they were going to... they were...they..."

She couldn't speak further, sobbing uncontrollably. Ein, holding her tightly, let her tears flow freely.

Later, when Fia calmed down, they returned to their camp. Progressing towards Tetyth for the rest of the day was out of the question in the state Fia was in. Ein decided to bring her to the river so she could wash herself.

"Yes... I suppose I should get rid of this mud..." said Fia when Ein asked her if she wanted to clean herself. "Just make sure no one else come... And please don't look..."

Ein had no problem with this request. With what happened, being a peeping tom was the furthest thing on his mind.

While Ein patrolled the area. Fia started to wash her clothes, so they would dry while she washed herself. Not wasting anytime, she put her clothes on a rock nearby and entered the water, getting rid of the mud.

While she felt the water streaming around her, she started to think about the whole thing. She fought demons. She even fought the Accursed and lived to tell the tale. She even fought Hector and dealt him the blow that made him kneel. Yet, back now, she had been helpless when she got caught. As fragile as a flower.

"Am I weak?" she thought. "Will gods truly listen to the prayer of... someone who can fight demons, but is helpless against simple bandits."

Casting further thoughts away, she got out of the water, dried a little in the air, and put back her dress on.

Ein , after patrolling, doubted that someone else was in the area. Still, Fia couldn't help but check often around her, a bit insecure. After the sun set down, they decided to turn in early to be in good shape for tomorrow. Sensing that night wouldn't be cold, Ein put out the fire, but still took out one of the blanket they brought with them to sleep with. Choosing a spot near a tree, he set himself down, and was about to shut his eyes when Fia asked him something:

"Ein... Is it okay if... I slept next to you tonight? I.. don't want to feel alone."

Ein understood perfectly what she asked, and let her lay herself next to him. Since the blanket Ein took was large, she set herself under it.

"Thank you Ein" she said, before drifting to sleep.

Ein watched her sleep, and started to think about what happened today. How could he let Fia get caught by bandits? She was strong, yes, but a surprise attack can take even the strongest. How could he have been so careless?

Ein started to ponder more about this, but felt something move, then setting itself on him. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Fia, the side of her head against his chest and her sleeping face turned towards him. Her arms were also around him.

"She must have moved on her sleep unknowingly" Ein thought.

Looking at her, he caught himself admiring her. Like this, smiling in her sleep, peacefully, she looked truly beautiful. She was strong, but was also frail sometimes.

Ein found himself putting his arms around her, in a protective manner. No way he was going to let someone hurt her again, he thought, before falling asleep too.

Fia in her mind, was peaceful. She felt secure, sensing herself in strong arms. Sensing the person who had those arms, she hugged even more whoever she held at that time.

She never wanted to lose that feeling for this night.

Meanwhile, back in Elendia that night...

Rose, Lina, Cierra and Serene were playing poker. And for the fun, they used fruits for betting.

So far, Serene was winning, always able to keep a poker face when the time was needed. Rose, who surprised everyone by figuring out own to play quickly, had a good share of fruits. Cierra wasn't that good at cards, but had her share.

However, Lina was losing badly. She only had some fruits, and she had not choice but to bet her applecots. Her applecots!

"What Lina's going to do?" she thought. She didn't want to lose them, especially since she loved them so much. The problem was that she couldn't keep a straight face, and the others guessed her hand easily.

The conversation was about Ein and Fia. They wondered how far they got today, and what could have happened.

"I just hope Ein won't try anything perverted." Serene said, still remembering what happened that time.

"I'm sure he knows better than to try it again." Cierra said, answering Serene's comment.

Lina listened, then got an idea. Something that would distract them long enough ss she could win this hand and protect her dear, sweet applecots. Of course, Lina knew she was going to get in trouble when Fia will come back, but her applecots were worth it.

"You know, Fia peeked on Ein once." Lina said, putting her idea in motion.

Of course, the effect was immediate.

Serene spitted back the water she was drinking in her cup, her brain assimilating what she just heard. Cierra, who had her usual smile whn playing, just froze on the spot, like time stopped. Rose froze too, her eyes widening in realisation, but she recovered first to start speaking, saying what was in the mind of the three girls.

"Fia? How? When? THE Fia we know?"

"Yup. It was when we found Ein outside our village, unconscious. Fia told me to go wash his clothes while she applied medicine to his body. When he woke up and blushed when he learned we took care of his clothes and his body, Fia quickly said she didn't peek on him. But when Ein said he was glad for it, Lina heard Fia release her breath, like she escaped something embarrassing. So Lina understood that Fia held her breath after saying that, because she looked at him!"

The minds of Serene, Cierra and Rose all shattered on the spot when they heard the facts.

And of course, Lina won the hand, the others too shocked to play good hands.

--

Author's notes : Well, it's done. I'm still a little surprised i was able to write all of this. Next update will take a bit of time to be up.

So, as always, r/r.


	3. The Water Demon

Reviewer's responses:

Feral Phoenix : Glad you find it good. I hope I won't let you down.

Biggoron : Glad you like it that much! Hope I hear from you again.

Swordust ; Glad you like it too, but updating regulary is too much for me. I do it when I can.

Author's notes : Finally, I made it. I had some writer's blocks from this chapter, but now I finally did it. I'm also glad there's people that like it. Still, it would be great if Riviera could becomes more popular. This game needs all the good fics it can get.Oh well, on with the story!

Disclaimer : I don't own Riviera.

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The Water Demon

Morning came, the sun rising slowly in the sky. Birds could be heard in the forest, and light finally passed through the tree, awakening the two travellers.

Fia awoke first. She stirred a little, opened her eyes, and blushed immediately when she saw "where" she slept.

Of course, when she awoke, she woke up Ein as well, and it wasn't long before they were both staring and blushing at each other.

Both said nothing for a while, not knowing what to say. Fia was thinking about how she ended up on him, but also how comfortable she was before waking up. Ein, while knowing that Fia was on him when he fell asleep, didn't expect her to wake up first, and blushed as well when he saw how flustered she was.

"Hmmm... Ein? I you can... remove yor arms, I'll get up..." Fia said, still blushing.

"Huh? Oh... Hmmm, sorry..." Ein answered, taking a while to realize what she said.

They both sat up, still not knowing what else to say.

"So..." Ein said "Are you ok? I mean, about..."

"Yes... I'm feeling well now, thank you Ein..." Fia said, still flustered a little.

"Good... I think we can Reach Tetyth this afternoon if we don't encounter any surprise"

"Then let's eat first, then we'll depart." Fia finished, now acting normally again.

After packing their camp, they departed again towards the ancient city. As they hoped, they didn't encounter any threat, and it wasn't long before they reached their destination.

Well, except for one "minor" problem in the way between them and the cathedral...

"Ein..." Fia asked "How are we going to cross the water?"

Apparently, the water that flooded the city hasn't gone anywhere, and the only parts of Tethyth that weren't sunk were the Mizel bridge and the Flaybell cathedral.

"Well... We're going to figure a way..." Ein said, not knowing what to do.

Fia gave a small smile, confident that he would find a way, then looked around for anything that could help them.

"Well, let's set up camp for now, at least..." She said, not finding anything.

Ein agreed, and they found a clearing that wasn't too far away from the lake. However, while they set up camp, they weren't aware of two pair of eyes spying them...

"What are they doing here?" A male voice said, whispering.

"Why would I know? I can't read minds, you know!" A feminine voice said, whispering too.

"Hey, do you think they could help us with our problem? It would be much more easier with them." The first voice said.

"Why would they help us? Remember what we did to them?" The feminine voice responded, sounding a little angry.

"Well... It can't hurt to ask, at least..." The boy's voice said, while going in the direction of the camp.

"What the...? What are you doing?" The other one shouted, following him.

Of course, the shouting didn't go unnoticed. Ein and Fia both turned towards the direction of the voice, weapons drawn, but they lowered them as soon as they saw who it was.

"Blue Fool! Red Sage! What are you doing here?" Ein asked, in a greeting voice.

Indeed, it was them. Blue Fool arrived first, followed by Red Sage who proceeded to whack him on the head for doing something stupid.

"Owww... Well, how it's going? We haven't seen you in a long time, you know." Fool said, still wincing from the hit.

"Well, we're fine. From the look of things, were you going to ask us something?" Fia answered, in a polite manner.

"Well... If it's not too much trouble... A big demon made his home here recently, and we can't drive him off with just the two of us." Sage explained.

"Is that so?" Ein said "But does he threaten anyone? If there's no one around..."

"It's an underwater one. He attacks the Undines whenever they get out of theirs homes." Fool answered.

"We became friends with the Undines some time after you left. Now that the water's level have rose, they started to expand a little, since there's much more space to swim around the city. But now that big bully came here and won't leave!" Sage finished angrily.

"Well... Let's go see it first, before deciding what to do" Fia said. She and Ein started to move but...

"Wait. By any chances, were you planning to return in the cathedral?" Sage asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ein said, worried.

"Because unless you can fly or float like us, he's going to attack you too." Sage answered.

"That means he's too dangerous to let loose. We have to beat it if we want to reach the cathedral, Ein." Fia said.

"Understood. Let's take some items with us and let's go." Ein answered.

It wasn't long before they reached the water's border. Upn reaching the place, they set up a plan. They would attract it near the border and force him to come out, giving Ein and Fia a chance to attack it before it submerged again. Fool then took some rocks, and threw them as far as he could to disturb his rest and makes him come here.

Sure enough, a shadow was soon approaching, and the four of them readied themselves.

"By the way..." Fia asked "How does he look like?"

"Don't worry that much. It's just one big, big octopus. We couldn't beat him because we were just two." Sage answered, his eyes still set on the water's surface.

"Good" Ein said "Then we only need at least to cut his tentacles so he can't attack anyone."

"Yeah. But the spiked ones seem more tough, so it may be a little difficult." Fool said.

Ein and Sage slowly looked at Fool, eyes widened. Sage looked at him like she wanted to kill him on the spot, and Ein looked between him and the shadow still approaching. Fia, not knowing what happened, wondered what the problem was.

"You...IDIOT!" Why didn't you told me that BEFORE angering him?" Sage shouted, angry.

"Ein? What's the problem? Is there somethin..." Fia started, but...

Ein tackled her to the ground, away from the water,s edge when a huge tentacle came out of the water and slammed strongly the ground where the two of them were the moment before. Sage and Fool warped near them, and faced the tentacle with theirs chain maces in theirs hands.

"That's not an octopus!" Ein shouted to her while setting himself and Fia up again, ready to battle. "It's a Kraken!"

"Wha..." Fia started, but she was interrupted again, as another tentacle rose from the water.

It slammed again towards Ein and Fia, but they saw it and dodged just before it was too late. Ein then proceeded to hack the tentacle, Einherjar in hand. Holy energy burning the Kraken's flesh, he cut it with ease. The creature dragged back in the water the uncut tentacle still connected to him, and a enormous cry was heard from the water.

"The Kraken is a mythical monster. Legends say that they attack and sink ships who come near their homes. No one is said to have seen them fully and lived to tell about it." Ein explained quickly before the Kraken attacked again.

This time, all seven remaining tentacles came to the surface, but the beast still stayed underwater. All of them threatened to attack in a second. Another normal one came down, targeting Sage this time. She warped out of harm's way, and Fia was the first to attack it. She thrust the Rosier in the tentacle, made and upward motion to get it out while cutting it, and finished the limb with a downward slash.

"Another down, only six left rem...Ahhh!" Fia shouted.

While the others were distracted with the others tentacles, one of them took the time to grab Fia's leg, and started dragging her towards the water's edge. The Kraken stop slamming the ground, now knowing it wouldn't work, and now attacked Ein, Fool and Sage with sweeping motions.

"Fia? Fia!"

Ein heard the scream and started to run to free her. One of the spiked tentacle tried to stop him, but he jumped over it and, sword drawn, made short work of the tentacle holding Fia.

"Are you okay Fia? Can you move?" Ein asked, forgetting the fight for a moment.

"Don't worry, I'm... Ein, behind you!"

"Huh?"

Ein looked behind him, only to get slammed by a tentacle. The sheer force of the impact sent him on a tree, and Ein started to bleed, not moving.

"Ein! No!" Fia shouted, running towards him.

She went next to him and quickly took a potion from her bag in her hand. She then wasted no time in forcing Ein to drink it. The wounds closed, and he awoke, the potion taking effect.

"Ughhh... Fia..." Ein said.

"Don't talk right now, and save your strength. It's still not over." Fia answered.

"No... Fia... Behind you!" Ein shouted, as much as he could right now.

The Kraken saw the opportunity, and with one tentacle, took both of them within his grasp. They tried to squirm out of his grasp, but gave up for two reasons : Te tentacle was too strong, and they were a little too close to each other to try squirming.

"Nightmare Waltz!" Two voices shouted.

Fool and Sage were attacking mercilessly the tentacle holding Ein and Fia, and the tentacle, while not being cut, was bleeding so much that it dropped the pair and slowly dragged itself in the water.

Now only four tentacle remained, and the two spiked one were still here. Bubbles coming to the surface, the Kraken finally appeared on the surface, eyes resting on the demons and the two warriors.

"We must kill it now... Aim for the eyes.If he get away, he'll be able to regrow his tentacles..." Ein said, now recovered from the earlier attack

"But how?" Fia asked "We don't have any bow with us, and we can't risk falling into the water by going too close of him."

"Talk later! He's trying to get away!" Sage shouted.

The Kraken had dragged his four remaining tentacles in the water, and slowly started to swam away.

"What? It's now or never! We must try to jump on it and kill its eyes!" Ein shouted, starting running.

The four of them were nearing the water,s edge when, in a last attempt, the Kraken attacked them with his spiked tentacles. Fool and Sage were knocked away, but the spikes didn't injured them too much. Ein and Fia were now ready to jump, and Ein was the first to do so. However, being in the air made him unable to dodge another attack, from a normal tentacle. He was sent back on the ground, but was too far to jump again.

Fia already jumped when she saw Ein getting knocked back. But the Kraken didn't noticed her until it was too late. Landing on it, she quickly got out the rosier.

"My resolve shall prevail! Cadenza!" Fia shouted.

The Kraken's eyes were nothing more than a bloody mess in just a few seconds.

Satisfied with the sinking Kraken, Fia found herself with a problem : How was she going to get back on the ground?

As if it wasn't enough, the Kraken wanted to drag Fia to her death with itself, wrapping a tentacle around her leg. Fia couldn't get away, and she was going to drown if she didn't get help fast.

Ein, seeing all of this, quickly discarded anything heavy on him and plunged into the water, swimming rapidly towards Fia. She tried to stay on the surface, but she was dragged underwater by the now dead Kraken.

Fool and Sage, bleeding a little from the battle, held their breath when they saw Ein plunging after Fia underwater. A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Another few seconds, and still nothing. They were starting to worry when bubbles finally broke the water's surface.

Ein and Fia emerged, both gasping for air. Ein then dragged Fia near the border, and they finally reached the edge, both panting heavily.

"We... We made it" Ein said, exhausted.

"Thank you... Ein... If you hadn't been there..." Fia added, exhausted too.

"Don't mention it. I couldn't... I would never have let you die, Fia..." Ein added, recovering his breath.

They made their way towards Fool and Sage, worried about them. Fortunately, their wounds weren't bad, nothing a potion couldn't fix.

"Well... Now what?" Fool asked.

"I think we should get back to camp, Ein. We're too tired for the rest of the day to try to the cathedral." Fia said.

"Good idea. But what are you going to do now?" Ein asked.

"Well... We'll warn the Undines about what happened. After, I don't know." Sage answered

After saying farewell, Ein and Fia returned to their camp. The rest of the day was spent there, having nothing else to do but think.

Night came, but being so close to a water spot made the night really cold, and the fire wasn't enough to keep them warm.

"Ein, it's too cold! We're going to get sick if this keep up!" Fia said, shivering.

"Let's take out the rest of the covers we have, then we'll see." Ein answered.

They divided the covers between them, and they waited a little to see if a change would pass.

"...Ein-n, it's not enough-h!" Fia added, shivering even more than before.

"...You know-w what this mean, then-n?" Ein said, a little shy about this.

"...Well... We don't have any other choice..." Fia answered, realizing the facts.

In her mind, thought, she was shouting her joy. She actually enjoyed the feeling of sleeping in Ein's arms, thought she would never admit it to someone else. Then, in a bold idea, she quickly put her covers with Ein's ones, and she swiftly made her way so she would sleep in the same position as before.

"Much better..." Fia said softly, blushing from what she just did.

Then, without warning, she went to sleep, a smile on her lips.

Ein was currently blushing madly from what just happened. What he had in mind was them sleeping close, but not THAT close. He would never dare to ask Fia to do this. When he noticed she was already asleep, he smiled too, then went to sleep.

--

Author's notes : Wow... Alhought it's my second fic, I can't believe I wrote that much for one chapter. Well, it's up to you to tell me if it's bad or not.

Again, pleaser/r, and warn me about mistakes if I made some, especially major ones.


	4. Peace for Lost Souls

Reviewer's responses:

Swordust: Thank you! Hope you'll like this one too.

Feral Phoenix: Err... Yeah, maybe I'll just forget about making anymore fight scene. I wasn't planning on making another one anyway. By the way, I saw your last review... Are you annoyed that there are more and more fans of Ein/Fia?

Biggoron: I see you started writing. Thanks for the review, and best of luck to you!

ManaMage: I'm glad to see someone finally commented on that… So, I'm your favorite in the Riviera's section? I'll try not to let you down.

The Bad Dog: I'm sorry, but Ledah is dead and I don't want to destroy the storyline. The idea is interesting, but I'm not touching any resurrection's stuff even with a ten-foot pole.

Author's notes: Well… I'm truly sorry to keep you waiting. School took up a lot of time, but I finally found some to write this chapter. I promise to next one will show up a lot sooner than this one.

On a side-note, I want to confess a mistake on my part… I didn't write down the names of the Undines that Ein met at Tetyth, but I needed it for the story. I tried looking for it on the Internet, but nobody seems to have written it down. So, if the name is wrong, warn me immediately and I'll change it as soon as I see the warning.

Also, since I have no talent in writing prayers, I had to look for one. But it was worth it, since the prayers I found were pretty interesting. I suggest you to visit Online Intercessors. Some of them are really inspiring.

So, finally, good reading!

Disclaimer: Riviera doesn't belong to me. Also, credits for the prayer go to Online Intercessors.

* * *

Morning was a little less awkward than the last one. While the sun was rising, Ein and Fia wondered, while eating, how they could go across the water. In the end, they decided to go try to see if another path was possible to reach the cathedral.

Of course, they didn't expect to see a raft on the water, at the water's border, with an Undine near it.

"Ah, so it's you again who helped us…" The Undine said when she caught sight of them.

Ein and Fia both approached her, questions in their mind.

"You're… Aria, isn't it? What are you doing here?" Ein asked, curious.

"Well, Sage told us about what happened yesterday, so I wanted to thank you both about it. He also told us about your problem, so we decided to help you in return." Aria responded.

"But… How did you build that raft?" Fia asked, politely.

"There are always some things floating around here. We just took all the wood we could find and tied it. So, are you ready to get across?" She asked.

"Ready? Well, yes, but why asking?" Ein asked.

"Since we couldn't find something to move the raft, we're going to move the raft for you." Aria answered.

"But… You don't have to do this. I'm sure we can…" Fia started.

"No but! You've done us a great service, killing that Kraken, and we're going to do it, whenever you like it or not!" Aria answered.

"If it's what you want… But are you alone? You said "we"…" Ein wondered.

"They are waiting below, so just get ready, and you'll be here in no time!" She answered, quickly. She then went underwater again, calling the other undines.

Ein and Fia both wondered why she said the last part in a hurry, but just shrugged it off. They placed themselves on the raft, and then waited for the Undines.

Underwater, Aria sighed. She was glad the others choose to stay underwater. The first time they heard of Ein when they saved her sister, Iria, rumors and gossips could be heard for a good time about him. And now that he saved all of them... They were like schoolgirls fussing over the popular boy, for crying out loud! If she had let them follow her, Ein would be red, and the girl, Fia if she remembers well, would have a good reason to be angry.

At the surface, Ein and Fia were still waiting. A minute later, the raft started moving, slowly but steadily.

"I'm a little nervous..." Fia said.

"Hmm? What are you worried for?" Ein asked, a little worried.

"Well... It's just that I'm not sure if I'm ready or not to do this. I mean, I did it for the spirit we found at Lacrima, but it will be the first time that I'll do it for so many souls... Can I really..." Fia answered, worried.

"Don't worry Fia, you can do it."

Ein was looking directly in Fia's eyes. She blushed a little, but soon smiled, feeling confident with the help of Ein.

"Thank you, Ein." Fia said, quietly.

The raft reached the bridge, and they disembarked. After Aria told them she would be waiting for them, they both headed for the cathedral.

The interior didn't change much. Everything was still golden. It was still as impressive as ever... to the point which it felt arrogant. The statues were impressive, but having been made for fallen angels, it was no wonder the gods were angry.

They finally reached the top of the stairs, where they fought the fallen archangel. Being the central point of the cathedral, it was the place where Fia needed to do the prayer.

"Are you ready, Fia?" Ein asked.

Fia took a long breath, and then answered.

"Yes, I'm going to start now." She said.

Fia stood at the center of the room, got into a praying position and started chanting:

_Gods who rule on this land,_

_I come against the spirits of apathy and indifference. _

_Let my heart bleed for lost souls and all those who struggle._

_Make me a prayer warrior that will never stop reaching out to lost souls._

_Rebuke the flesh and let me walk in the Spirit._

_Grant me a heart that bleeds for lost souls and respects the struggles of others._

_Grant me the greatest dose of compassion I have ever dreamed. _

_Go beyond my dreams - give me compassion that exceeds all my understanding._

_Let me seek,_

_let me search,_

_let me hunger,_

_let me thirst,_

_let me long,_

_let me never stop looking,_

_let me become unstoppable in my desire to reach out to lost souls and to those who struggle._

_Let my heart bleed for the lost and dying._

Fia waited a few seconds, and then moved again. Ein, who was listening, approached her.

"Fia... That was beautiful..." He said, impressed by the prayer.

Fia's cheeks reddened a little at that.

"Thank you... But, do you think it was enough?" She asked, unsure of herself.

Ein shook his head.

"You know, Fia, there's something I wanted to say to you lately. I think now is a good time for that."

"Ein?" Fia said, wondering what Ein wanted to say.

He said nothing. Instead, he moved towards her, and embraced her in his arms. Fia, surprised by his actions, did nothing.

"Fia, you're the most caring person I've ever met. You always made sure everyone was well during ours travels, and you still do it today. You even help everyone in Elendia."

Fia blushed at this, but still listened, since Ein hadn't finished.

"You also pray a lot, to keep the village safe, and also for the dead, to give them peace. Now, today, you just helped the dead who couldn't find peace here."

Ein took a deep breath, and then continued.

"Yet, at home, when Serene, Cierra, Lina of me ask you if you need help, you always say that you're fine. You always think of others before yourself, and you don't want to burden us. But, Fia, we want to help you. I want to help you. You don't have to do everything by yourself."

If Fia was blushing before, she was now as red as she could, hearing Ein's words.

"Fia, its okay to ask for help. I... I fear that if continue like this, something may happen to you..."

"Ein, I..." Fia tried to respond, but Ein kept going.

"I... Fia, we don't want to find you one day unconscious from exhaustion. We don't want you to become ill because you worked too much."

"But I..."

"Fia..."

Fia stopped, wondering what else Ein was going to say.

"I lost Ledah, my best friend. Malice was someone I knew when we were young, and she died too, and Hector made a mockery of her death. And... I already lost you once, Fia."

Fia winced, recalling the event where Hector killed her, to finally be able to summon Seth. She halted her thoughts when Ein put his hands on her shoulders, and he looked directly in her eyes.

"I don't want to lose you again Fia..."

"Ein..." Fia didn't know what to say.

Ein was wondering what he should do now. Should he just just let her go now? Should he still hold here like a second before? Should he try to say something else? Or should he...

He looked at her, and there's one thing he wanted to do, but wondered how Fia would react. Should he do it? Should he...

The same debate was also going on in Fia's head. Should she say something? Should she stay silent?

Fia looked at him, and wished for something. But how should he react? Should she...

_**Do it...**_

The voice was like a whisper, heard in their heads.

Ein leaned his head foward, awaiting a reaction. Fia, seeing this, also moved her head, and closed her eyes, wondering if this was a dream.

And then they kissed.

The kiss was as tender as it could be. In each of them, happiness was flowing like a river. While they were kissing, both embraced the other in their arms. It was a caring embrace, and the gentle kiss was still going for a few seconds.

They had to stop, needing to breathe. Ein looked at Fia, and Fia looked at Ein. Ein finally decided to break the silence.

"Fia, I love you."

Fia's heart jumped forward, and she answered without hesitation.

"And I love you, Ein."

They both headed for the stairs, ready to return to the raft.

"You seem a little exhausted from the prayer, do you want me to carry you Fia?" Ein asked.

Of course, Fia couldn't possibly say no at that time.

"Well... Since you're offering..."

Fia just let herself be taken in Ein's arms. He carried her bridal's style, and she let her head rest against Ein's shoulder.

The both smiled as much as they could the whole time; unable to contain one part of the happiness they were feeling.

In the central room, soon after they had left, two spirits appeared. Both of them had black wings, but one was female, and the other was male.

"You see Ledah? I told you a little push was all they needed." The women said.

"I see... But still, they were going to do it sooner or later. It was just a matter of time, even with your intervention, Malice." Ledah answered.

"Maybe... But I wanted to do something for them, to try to make up a little for what I've done..."

"Malice, I'm sure they know fully well that you had been manipulated by Hector." Ledah answered.

Both stayed silent silent for a minute, before Malice spoke up again.

"By the way, is she this good at praying? I never felt so many souls moving on at once..." Malice asked.

"Well... I don't know. You know that the Gods couldn't have heard it, since they aren't here."

"Then... What made them move on?" Malice asked, wondering.

"Maybe... It's just a theory, but maybe they just needed someone to forgive them. I know she didn't say it directly, but I think all that they wanted was the forgiveness of one person for what they've done." Ledah answered, a little unsure.

"Yeah... Maybe it is..." Malice said back.

"Still, it's strange. We always talked about the will of the gods, every now and then, and we always said it during Ein's adventure, to explain our actions, but did we truly know what they wanted? Could someone truly know what they want?" Ledah said, wondering.

"Well... Maybe not. But should go now, we don't need to stay here anymore."

"Alright, alright."

They both left, their destination unknown.

* * *

Author's notes: Well, there's only the last chapter left to do. I hope you liked the prayer and the scene after. I'm sorry again for taking so much time to update, and the last chapter won't take so long so finish.

So please, r/r, and don't forget to warn me if I made the mistake mentioned above.


	5. Home at Last

As usual, reviewers's responses:

Eden Raid: Glad you liked that part. I wasn't sure about how readers would react, but now I'm glad I took this initiative.

Feral Phoenix: Thanks, but the credits go to Online Intercessors. I just assembled the prayer with parts I found. And I felt I had to put those two in the fic. I mentioned Fool and Sage in an earlier chapter, so why not them? And sorry for my writing mistake about your gender.

Biggoron: Thanks. Glad to know you're doing well.

Meirus: Wow... I'm that good? Well... That's great to know. Too bad the Riviera section doesn't have more writers.

Author's notes:

Well, here's my last chapter. I didn't feel adding anything too big, and finals are taking most of my attention. So it will be a bit small. But I wanted to finish this as soon as possible. I hope you'll like it. By the way, I also did a small correction on the timeline. This can't be happening 1 month after Hector's defeat, since the game made an event about that. Sorry for this.

On a side note, who can believe my school stayed open during a snowstorm? I hate driving in those so much…

On with the fic!

Disclaimer: Riviera doesn't belong to me.

* * *

Ein and Fia, after saying goodbye to Aria, were returning to Elendia. They camped one night in the forest again, and they were now less than 1 hour away from Elendia.

Of course, both of them weren't in a hurry to get back. But as much as they enjoyed their time alone together, they didn't want to worry Lina, Serene, Cierra and Rose.

Lights could be seen in the distance at the same time the sun started to set down.

"Ein... Can I ask you something?" Fia said.

"Of course. What is it?"

"Well... Can we keep the secret for tonight about us?" Fia asked.

"Huh? What for?" Ein said, obviously puzzled.

"I know they'll ask questions about it on when, how or whatever about it, but I feel like sleeping early tonight."

"I don't see a problem. We'll just keep the surprise for tomorrow."

"Thank you Ein. But about tonight..."

"Don't worry." Ein said, a little smile forming at the thought, "I'll slip in when I'll be sure no one looks my way."

"I'll be waiting..." Fia said, smiling too.

Nothing much was happening in the house. Rose was still writing, Cierra was reading a book about magic and Lina and Serene were sitting at the table, bored out of their minds.

The door suddenly opened, revealing Ein and Fia, finally back.

"Ein! Fia! You're finally back!" Lina shouted, happy to see them. She immediately made her way towards them, and hugged them both as much as she could.

"Whoa, Lina, I'm glad to see you. Did something happen?" Fia asked, not expecting Lina's outburst.

"Lina was bored!"

"I was too. After all, Ein wasn't here to entertain us with his klutziness." Serene said, also coming near them.

"What do you mean by that?" Ein asked, in a mock offended tone.

"Remember last week?"

"Okay okay, I get it already..."

That event was still fresh in everyone's mind. Ein, while descending the stairs, tripped who know how. The bucket he was holding, filled with water, went flying, spilling his content near the table. Sadly, Rose was writing near the table.

Although Rose was more comfortable near water since she was human, she still held some feline instincts. And that instinct told her to flee the water. She immediately climbed on the table, protecting her book at the same time. Cierra, also at the table to read, had been so shocked she fell backward on her chair. Serene tried to catch the chair, but slipped on the water and fell down. Lina was running to see if Ein wasn't hurt, but tripped on Serene and crashed on Ein.

Fia, who wasn't near enough to be part of the commotion, could barely stop herself from laughing at the scene.

Nevertheless, that was something they weren't going to forget anytime soon...

"I hope you didn't do something stupid while you weren't here." Serene asked, with the back of her mind being sure something must have happened.

"Well, you're both looking correct, so I'm sure nothing bad happened, right?" Cierra asked, putting down her book while noting the page she was reading.

"Cierra, since when nothing happens with Ein around?" Rose asked.

"Good point."

"Don't worry Rose, nothing like that happened." Fia said, defending Ein.

"But something happened, right? Tell me tell me tell me!" Lina answered, a bit hyper.

"Can you wait tomorrow? We've just came back and we are a bit weary." Ein said, remembering Fia wanted to go to sleep early.

"But Lina want to know…" She said.

"Just a bit then…" Ein said, giving up.

"Yay!"

"And if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep." Fia said, going to her room.

While Fia was leaving the room, the rest of the girls, minus Serene who climbed the stairs too, moved toward Ein to listen. He carefully made sure to avoid the part where Fia had been caught by the demons. Lina was too young for this, and Fia should probably talk about it herself, Ein thought.

Just as Fia was reaching her room, Serene caught up with her.

"Fia, there's something I wanted to ask you if you don't mind." She said.

"Sure. What is it?" Fia was curious.

Unfortunately for her, curiosity kills the cat, like the saying says.

"How Ein is? You know, since he's an angel, he must have some muscles under those clothes, right? And… How It is?" She asked, a devious smile forming on her lips.

Fia, of course, took only a second to turn into a deep shade of red, memories of that time coming back.

"Errr… Excuse me Serene, but what are you talking about?"

Fia masked her voice miserably, giving confirmation to Serene that the event truly happened.

"Come on Fia. I know you know." Serene said.

Fia was in deep thought. How did Serene know? She wasn't even there when it happened. It was only her, Ein and…

Lina was going to get it tomorrow, she promised herself.

"Oh well, you can tell me tomorrow. I'll just let you sleep for now." Serene had all her time, after all. She could wait until morning to hear all the… juicy details. She then went to listen to Ein's tale of the travel.

Fia opened the door to her room and entered, changed into night clothes, and climbed on her bed.

"_Now I just have to wait" _She told herself.

After a while, Ein said he was going to sleep too, much to Lina's despair, who wanted to know everything now. He climbed the stairs, and the girls found themselves again with nothing to do.

"He's not telling us something…" Rose said when she was sure Ein couldn't hear her.

"Huh? What could he be hiding?" Lina asked, confused.

"Didn't you notice he was… smiling a little too much when he climbed the stairs?"

"Now that you mention it, I find it strange too." Cierra said, now curious as well.

"Should we follow him?" Serene asked, grinning from the prospect of potential blackmail.

"Why not?" Rose said back, grinning back at Serene like she guessed her idea.

"But shouldn't we wait until he tells us? It isn't right to intrude on his privacy." Cierra said, being the only one not entirely happy about the plan.

"Cierra, admit you want to know too." Serene said.

She blushed, but said nothing afterward and just followed them.

They silently climbed the stairs to avoid alarming Ein. Then, they moved toward his room, but where surprised to find no one in the room.

"Where could he be?" Rose whispered, confused.

Serene moved away from the group, having a guess about where Ein was. She carefully opened the door to Fia's room, to avoid waking her up, but was surprised about what she saw. The others, noticing her, moved towards Serene, to end up being as surprised as her.

Fia was sleeping on her bed. Or more accurately, she was sleeping on Ein. Her hair was gracefully extended to their full length, covering her and a good part of Ein. Ein had one of his hands on her hair, and his other one, hidden from the girls, was on her bare back. Fia's head was on his chest, along with one of her hand.

The girls returned as silently as they could to the living room. Rose and Serene were grinning madly, and Cierra had a good idea about what they were going to do.

"You aren't going to embarass them, aren't you?" She asked.

They both looked at each other, before answering at the same time: "No…"

They said it in a manner that was obvious enough to let her know that they were going to take full advantage of it.

"Lina's happy for them. But now I'm tired…" She said, stuffing a yawn.

"Then let just go to sleep too." Cierra said, agreeing to what Lina said.

And they went to sleep, now aware that Ein and Fia were finally together.

End.

* * *

Author's notes:

Well, I couldn't think of something else to end it, so sorry if the last part was boring. I hope you liked it, and now I have some things to announce.

First, school is ending. Yes, I know you're happy, but school's computers were my only way to correct my fics. During winter break, I intend to rectify this, but they may be more mistakes in future fics. I apologize in advance for this.

Second, I have enough of writing multi-chaptered fics. While I won't stop writing, I think I'll stick only with one-shots. That way, I won't have the trouble of finding time to update.

Of course, if I have a good idea, I'll write the whole text first, and then post it chapter by chapter, correcting it with your reviews along the way.

And finally, I think I'm going to post something special for winter's break. But I don't intend to post a Christmas fic, since a certain someone took the best ideas, and that I have no gift idea anyway. But I could do something for New Year. I'm also open to suggestions, just look in my profile for details.

So, as always, r/r.


End file.
